Fresh Art: Judy Polstra

Costume jewelry, buttons, beads, pins, pocket watches, dominoes and Cracker Jack prizes are just a few of the items that make their way into Judy Polstra’s sculptural assemblages. One work, a vintage mannequin covered with false teeth, prosthetic eyes and other objects, is titled “Confidence.” Another figure is titled “You’re Too Sensitive" and is adorned with tiny toy dentures, vintage dental molds, buttons and costume jewelry.

“A friend of mine — well, actually not a friend — used to tell me that often, and I got so tired of hearing it,” Polstra explains of the piece's title. “I couldn’t think of what to name [this sculpture], but with the teeth, I thought she’s biting. It seemed to fit as it was one of those times that I got tired of hearing for the millionth time from this person, ‘You’re too sensitive.’ ”

Sensitivity, in fact, helps Polstra to volunteer with Hospice, a program that was there for her when her mother and grandmothers died. Those women left behind the little treasures from which she makes her work.

“Between 1999 and 2001, my mother and both my grandmothers passed away, and they had vast accumulations of buttons and costume jewelry,” she recalls. “When you’re cleaning out a house when somebody dies, there’s just so much stuff. Some of the stuff I had never seen before, and some of it I had seen before but nobody wanted it.”

"You're Too Sensitive"

Polstra had no idea what she would do with the items. Then one night, during a bout with insomnia, she began laying some of the items out on the floor and playing with them.

“Some of the things were either really beautiful or very funny,” she says. “Some were broken, some were ugly. I thought it was such a shame for these things to never be seen again. I had studied fashion design in college and had a mannequin torso left over from college design classes. I started playing with it, and I liked the results.”

Using Italian and vintage buttons, Polstra transformed the torso into “Island Celebration,” which depicts a girl atop a 1970s-style Lucite sunflower trivet. Then, she created “Judy’s Biological Clock” using flowery beads, clock and watch parts and, on the nipples of the mannequin torso, pocket watches.

In 2002, shortly after she started making her assemblages, “Judy’s Biological Clock” was accepted into the Hortt, a prestigious juried exhibition that once took place annually in South Florida. “I just entered on a fluke,” Polstra says. “I didn’t know it was a big deal. Some artists were mad.”

Polstra began showing her assemblages locally, but by 2005, her corporate sales job was eating up much of her life, leaving less room for art. Two years ago, she left that job after getting carjacked by two thugs she says held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she moved. They didn’t physically harm her, but they did steal her car and purse. The incident, combined with the stress of her job, left her in need of a break. So when she inherited money from a relative, she decided to focus on her art again and volunteer for Hospice.

"Confidence"

Her two passions are beginning to intertwine. Polstra is considering doing “remembrance pieces” for people who have lost someone. “I really just don’t know how to approach that yet, but everybody has stuff that they maybe don’t want to get rid of,” she says. “I just think it’s a happy way to remember your loved one and still see some of these things that meant a lot to them.”

She also has begun using her inherited treasures, as well as thrift-store finds and items donated by friends, to decorate chairs. She has donated some of them to the Moyer Foundation, which offers bereavement camps for children, and the Washington, D.C.-based National Hospice Foundation, where she was a featured artist earlier this year.

Now, Polstra is getting back into the local art scene and is exhibiting in The Sincerity Project at Studio 18 in Pembroke Pines. Her works there include “Girl Band-Mini Couture,” a five-piece assemblage that includes a Lady-Gaga-inspired singer and bandmates, most clad in dresses Polstra’s mother once made for her dolls. Polstra will hold a solo show at the gallery next March.

Her works got much attention at The Sincerity Project reception, and Polstra enjoys seeing people discover the little pieces in her work. “I always try to put things in there that are funny or unusual,” she says. “I get such a huge kick out of people going, 'Oh my gosh!’ or ‘I remember that from when I was a little kid!’ I try to hide little things. The closer you look, the more likely you will find something unexpected.”

Polstra will show her work in Construct, which will open Thursday, Aug. 25 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., at which Polstra will play piano. The show will take place through Sept. 9 at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-462-8190 or visit Artserve.org.

Polstra’s works are also on display in The Sincerity Project, which will run through Sept. 30 (and include a Sept. 2 salon where Polstra and other artists will discuss their work from 7 to 9 p.m.) at Studio 18, 1101 Poinciana Drive, in Pembroke Pines. Call 954-961-6067 or visit Ppines.com/studio18.